Grammar #5 Course
Lesson #1
2023
Conditionals
• If my parents had been richer, I could have been more fortunate with my life.
• We’ll go to the park if it’s sunny at the weekend.
• You get wet if it rains.
• If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.
Conditionals
• If my parents had been richer, I could have been more fortunate with my life.
Third: if + past perfect, … would/could/might have + past participle
• We’ll go to the park if it’s sunny at the weekend.
First: will + infinitive + if + present simple
• You get wet if it rains.
Zero: present simple, if + present simple
• If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.
Second: if + past simple, … would + infinitive
• If clause (condition), + main clause (result)
• Separated by a comma
• Clauses can function in the opposite order, as well, but without the comma:
• Main clause (result) + if clause (condition
Zero conditional
• Use to talk about general truths
• Structure: If + present simple, present simple
• The meaning stays the same even if we use when instead of if.
First conditional
• Use to talk about things in the future that are likely to happen or have a real
possibility of happening
• Structure: If + present tense, … will (not) + infinitive
• If we work hard, we’ll finish the project on time
Other connectors
• Can use other connectors instead of if, such as:
• When, as soon as, in case, unless, as long as, after. However, each changes
the meaning slightly.
• Other connectors: unless, providing/provided that, so/as long as, on condition
(that), what if, suppose/supposing, otherwise (=if not), but for, and, or (else),
even if, in case of/in the event of, etc
Modal verbs
• We can use modal verbs instead of will (not), such as:
• May, might, shall, should, could in the main clause. This changes the meaning, or
the likelihood of the result.
Second conditional (Unreal)
• Refers to the present or the future, and is used to talk about
anything unlikely to happen in the future, e.g., You find a million
dollars on the floor
• Structure: If + past simple,… would/wouldn’t + infinitive
• Contrary to facts in the present
Were’ instead of ‘was’
• When the verb to be is in the if clause, we can change it from was
to were. This is because we are talking about hypothetical situations,
so we’re changing the mood of the verb from indicative to
subjunctive. Both options are correct, but were is often preferred.
Third conditional (Unreal)
• We use this structure to talk about an imagined past with a different
result
• Structure: If + past perfect,…would/wouldn’t + have + past
participle.
• Contrary to facts in the past
• Often used to express regrets or criticism
• Unreal because we’re talking about the past which cannot be changed
Finish the sentences
• If I ate one type of food for every for the rest of my life, …
• Only if you work hard, …
• If I had any job in the world, …
• If I were trapped on a desert island, …
• If they had been more careful, …
• Unless it rains, …
Inverted Conditionals – First Conditional
(“Should”)
• Let’s take a simple first conditional sentence:
If he remembers his own name, we’ll be able to help him.
• To invert:
Replace “if” with “should.”
Replace the verb with the
bare infinitive.
(e.g. “goes” →” go,” “has” → “have,” am/is/are → “be”)
Inverted Conditionals – Second
Conditional (“Were”)
• There are actually two uses of the inverted second
conditional:
1. With verbs, to describe an unlikely future
2. With “be,” to describe an unreal present state
Inverted Second Conditional for Unlikely
Future Events
• If he pushed the button, we’d all have problems.
To invert:
1. Replace “if” with “were.”
2. Change the verb to the infinitive form (with “to”).
Inverted Second Conditional for Unreal
Present States
• If I was ridiculously rich, I think I’d still work.
To invert this:
1. Remove “if.”
2. Invert subject and verb. (“I was” → “was I”)
3. If necessary, change “was” to “were.”
Were I ridiculously rich, I think I’d still work.
Inverted Conditionals – Third Conditional
(“Had”)
• If we’d arrived sooner, we wouldn’t have missed the beginning.
To invert this:
1. Delete “if.”
2. Invert the subject and the auxiliary. (“we had” → “had we”)
HW: WB pg. 34 ex. 1-3
